Causes and Treatment of Anorexia

Society has always put forward certain requirements for the parameters of the female body. For the sake of conformity to the standards, the girls are ready to exhaust themselves with all sorts of diets and starvations, without even thinking about the fact that they exert their body a great deal of stress. As a result, instead of the coveted ideal figure, you can get a disease such as anorexia.

• Causes of
• Symptoms of
• Stages of
• Types of
• Than
• Diagnostics
• Treatment
• Nutrition
• In children
• Pregnancy
• Home treatment
• Prevention

Reasons

From the Greek, the term "anorexia" translates as "without appetite" and iscomplete or partial refusal of food, so that the patient can bring himself not only to complete exhaustion, but also to death. Even having reached the target weight, a person can no longer stop and continues to lose weight, constantly seeing himself fat.

There are many reasons for the disease, they can be divided into the following categories:

• Psychological - uncertainty about one's own attractiveness and strength, propensity to depression and anxiety, restraining one's emotions and excessive control over one's own behavior, unjustified excitement and anxiety.
  

  
  

• Social - severe stresses( for example, loss of work, death of loved ones), physical and sexual violence, intimidation or intense pressure, problems in the family or a complete break with dear and close people.
• Biological - genetic predisposition, constant diet and weight control.
• Immunological or hormonal disorders, diseases( anemia, diabetes, intoxication, thyrotoxicosis, various infections).
• Taking medications that affect your appetite.
• Dependence on narcotic or alcoholic substances.

Signs of

Anorexia can be learned from the following symptoms:

• weight loss exceeds 15% of the norm;
• complete absence or significant decrease in appetite;
• rejection of products that are "full";
• application of one or more of the following: vomiting, using laxatives, excessive sports activity, taking suppressants or diuretics( diuretics);
• obsessive fear of obesity;
• endocrine disorders and hormonal changes;
• permanent weakness of the body, dizziness, muscle spasms;
• negating the problem of low weight;
• infringement of ways of a food( reception of food standing, crushing on small slices);
• fascination with everything related to the topic of food( interest in different diets, collecting recipes, preparing new dishes for relatives without participation in their absorption);
• sleep disturbance, depression, mood swings;
• decrease in communication with close people( lack of general meetings and meals, frequent visits to the bathroom, long-term sport outside the home).

Stages of

Several periods of the development of the disease are distinguished:

• The initial( dysmorphic) is characterized by the predominance in a person of thoughts about their own defectiveness in connection with completeness. Frequent examinations of themselves in the mirror begin, the first restrictions in eating, the mood becomes depressed and alarming.
• In the anorectic period the patient no longer hides his starvation, the loss of 20-30% of body weight is accompanied by euphoria and further tightening of the diet and other methods for weight loss. The physical condition deteriorates significantly, but this does not affect the patient's activity and performance.
• In the cachectic stage of anorexia, irreversible processes in the body begin, the degeneration of internal organs, the weight deficit is from 50% and more. To the patient the forced hospital treatment is applied.
• The reduction stage is a relapse of the disease, which can occur within 2 years after exiting the cachectic period.

Types of

Depending on the causes of anorexia, several of its types are distinguished:

• Mental - occurs in mental disorders accompanied by loss of hunger( in paranoia, schizophrenia, neglected stages of depression).It also happens after the use of psychotropic substances( alcohol).
• Nervous( psychological) anorexia is the most common type of disease. It is distinguished by a conscious restriction in food and panic fear to recover, a constant sense of completeness.
• Symptomatic anorexia is a manifestation of a serious somatic disease, when the body focuses on treating the disease without spending it on digesting food( for example, with gynecological problems, pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract or hormonal system).
• Drug anorexia occurs as a result of exceeding the dose of psychomodulators and antidepressants, the side effect of which is the suppression of appetite( for example, Amitriptyline).This includes receiving anorectic substances( Bisacodyl, Fentropil).
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What is dangerous is

Anorexia is veryinsidious, the consequences of this disease can become irreversible for the body:

• From the cardiovascular system - cardiac arrhythmia( usually bradycardia), which often leads to sudden death due to the lack of mineral substances and disbalance of electrolytes. Attacks of dizziness and fainting are slowing, a slow pulse causes a constant feeling of cold.
• Skin becomes dry and pale, because of hormonal disorders, the girls have additional hair on the body( especially on the face and back), hair on the head begins to fall out, there is a layering and brittle nails.
• Subcutaneous fat decreases until absent, muscle tissue is atrophied, degeneration of internal organs begins.
• The digestive system reacts with pain in the stomach, nausea, chronic constipation.
• On the part of the endocrine system - a slowing of metabolism, a lack of production of thyroid hormones.
• Disorders in the genitourinary system lead to infertility.
• Mental consequences - inability to concentrate, depression, suicide.
• Other disorders include osteoporosis and frequent fractures, a decrease in brain mass.
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Diagnosis

Most often the diagnosis of anorexia is made patient only a few years after the onset of the disease, when the deficit of weight is already pronounced. Diagnosis is performed on the basis of the following criteria:

• a strong fear of fullness, which does not go away with a decrease in body weight;
• violation of the objective perception of one's own body( a sense of imperfection, completeness even in the presence of exhaustion);
• refusal to keep weight above the minimum, normal for its height and age;
• presence of amenorrhea( absence of menstruation) in women and loss of sexual desire and potency in men.

Additional studies for suspected anorexia:

• laboratory blood tests - show a significant decrease in blood levels of sugar and thyroid hormones;
• computed tomography of the brain - performed to exclude tumors;
• gynecological examination - confirm the fact that amenorrhea and sterility are caused by anorexia.

Treatment of

Key elements of recovery are physical improvement and psychotherapy. The medication intake is only a concomitant component of the following effects:

• Behavioral psychotherapy - is aimed at increasing body weight.
• Cognitive psychotherapy - corrects mistakes of thinking, such as feelings of inferiority, perception of oneself as thick, definition of one's value solely depending on the structure of the body.
• Family psychotherapy - adjusts relations in the family, eliminating the causes of the disease. Especially effective for patients under 18 years.
• Alimentary rehabilitation - programs for emotional care and support.
• Therapeutic nourishment is carried out according to certain schemes.
• Pharmacotherapy is used in a limited way, including the use of drugs such as Cyproheptadine( an antidepressant, contributes to weight gain), Chlorpromazine( Aminazine) and Olanzapine( reduce excitement, increase body weight), Fluoxetine( reduces food disorders in patients who have reached normal weight), atypical antipsychotics(reduce anxiety, promote weight gain).

Power

To gain the necessary weight, not to dehydrate( dehydrate) the body and restore the electrolytic balance in the blood will help special therapeutic nutrition. The diet is developed by specialists and is adjusted at all stages of treatment, which are characterized by:

• determining the target body weight of the patient;
• establishment of bed rest( physical activity drains the body);
• frequent and high-calorie meals, starting with small portions with their gradual increase;
• ensuring the regularity of meals, excluding its rejection due to the use of soft, sparing dishes for the stomach - oatmeal and jelly, chicken broth, soft-boiled eggs, butter and vegetable oil, potato, carrot and squash in milk;
• use of additives with microelements;
• control body weight gain: for inpatients it should be 0.5-1 kilogram per week, for outpatient - no more than 0.5 kilograms;
• ration expansion after the first week of treatment with the inclusion of non-acidic berries, bananas, apple puree, porridges on water and milk, enriching chicken broth with vegetables and chicken;
• adding to the menu at the end of the second week of steam fish, live fruit and vegetable juices diluted with water, curd dishes;
• relapse treatment begins with the beginning, with the exception of all products other than safe;
• in severe cases of the disease can be powered by a probe.

In

children The somatic state of younger patients - children and adolescents - is more worrisome than in adults. Due to lower energy reserves, depletion and dehydration can develop much faster.

Beginning before puberty, anorexia stops and often reduces the growth of the child, which is why the body mass index can not be calculated correctly. The target weight for this category of patients is also quite difficult to determine. Often, probe feeding becomes vital in the treatment of children.

The following factors may provoke pediatric anorexia:

• Incorrect, often stereotyped behavior of parents during feeding is a violation of the regime, as a result of which the food reflex, the same menu, the use of foreign objects, distracting attention, feeding by force are not developed. The result of such actions may be neuroses, developmental lag, anorexia.
• Diseases of the digestive system and the oral cavity, when a child traces the connection between pain and food intake.
• Tumors of the hypothalamus.

Signs of anorexia in children of different ages differ:

• In children up to the year, the onset of the disease is easy to notice - during feeding, the baby is fussy, flushes, turns away from food, does not swallow or spits it, sheds it on the floor, instead of normal adult food prefers something unusual( like lemons).
• In preschool children, anorexia is rarely recognized in the early stages, usually parents begin to worry after signs of malnutrition - dizziness, constipation, pruritus. It turns out that the child induces vomiting, can not eat when hungry. Usually, the disease occurs against a background of stress( for example, parent's divorce).
• In school children( especially girls), anorexia often develops due to the entrainment of the stars, propagating certain standards of beauty. Dissatisfaction with their appearance and complexes induce the adolescent to act by means of which it is possible to achieve the ideal - refusal to eat, vomiting, taking laxatives, physical exertion. The child seeks to consume more energy, often doing everything standing up( reading, eating).

Pregnancy to

Women who suffer from anorexia have very little chance of conceiving a child, and the gestation period threatens many dangers:

• spontaneous abortion or premature delivery;
• birth of a child with malformations;
• further depletion of the mother's body due to the fact that the child draws from it the necessary nutrients for growth;
• depression on the background of the weakening of the body or from the rejection of changes in the figure.

A pregnant woman with signs of anorexia should be under the supervision of a specialist, observe a diet and sleep.

Home treatment

If the disease does not take life-threatening proportions, and the patient realizes the problem, you can try therapy at home using such methods:

• The intake of vitamins and minerals - folic acid, zinc, potassium, vitamin B12are necessary for proper metabolism, iron and magnesium restore the menstrual cycle, calcium and vitamin D protect against osteoporosis. The use of a child's mixture 2 times a day for 200 milliliters helps to gain weight and enrich the body with useful substances.
• Observance of a high-calorie diet is the use of sparing foods, including proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Food should be warm, soft consistency, and the volume of portions and caloric content increase gradually.
• Compliance with the drinking regime - it is necessary to drink at least 2 liters of liquid per day.
• The use of herbal decoctions and infusions to increase appetite( mint tea, picking wormwood and St. John's wort, infusions from the root of the ayr and anise seeds, yarrow juice) stimulate the secretion of the stomach, causing appetite.
• Mastering the techniques of relaxation and self-hypnosis - breathing exercises, visualization of relaxing images, installations about your own beauty help calm down and learn how to love your body.
• Doing sports - doing physical exercises 3 times a week contributes not only to keeping the form, but also distracts from obsessions, making a person more energetic and contented with themselves.

Prevention of

In people with normal self-esteem, leading a healthy lifestyle, the development of anorexia is unlikely. To pledge these values ​​is desirable from early childhood:

• Do not focus on diets. Food deviations are not uncommon among children, whose family constantly discusses the theme of harmony.
• Do sports exercises. They improve the figure, mood, mental health. However, professional occupations often cause the installation, that excess weight worsens the athletic performance.
• To form the right attitude to food. This includes the establishment of a diet, a variety of dishes, the refusal to forcibly feed and indulge the child's desires is only sweets. Do not praise the child for overeating, call it fat, prohibit eating, use food as a reward.
• To help a child lose weight if he suffers from excess weight - adjust nutrition, choose exercise, explain how important it is to maintain health.
• Teach a child to love himself. It is necessary to praise the child for the smallest achievements and inform him that all people are unique, and the features of the figure do not interfere with achieving success in life and becoming happy.